The human population has been growing rapidly in recent years. One of the most basic needs of people is food. Many countries around the world invest in the food industry. Climate change, population growth, urbanization, natural disasters, and agricultural efficiency are important factors affecting food production. Companies must constantly control their production, marketing, and supply chain process depending on the rapidly changing competitive conditions. Supply chain management is an important process for companies to be successful and ensure their continuity in the food industry, as in many industries. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method is widely used in supplier evaluation. In this study, it was aimed to determine the best supplier of food production company using the AHP method. In the study, three different suppliers were evaluated according to five different criteria by taking the opinions of four experts working in the purchasing department. As a result of the study, the best supplier has been selected.
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Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are widely used in supplier selection in the literature, (Hou and Su, 2006; Bruno et al., 2012; Kasirian and Yusuff, 2013; Mardani et al., 2015; Frej et al., 2017; Amindoust and Saghafinia, 2017; Wang et al., 2020).
Some of the studies in which suppliers are selected in different sectors using the AHP method are given in the following paragraphs.
Hou and Su (2006) were used the AHP method to select a web-based supplier in the electronics industry. In their study, 5 suppliers were evaluated considering technology, research and development, quality, service, price, location, and delivery criterion.
Paksoy and Güleş (2006) were used the AHP for supplier selection problem in a company in the textile sector in Turkey. In the study, 6 supplier firms were evaluated according to quality, supplier performance, cost, compromise ability, technology, color supply and distance criterion.
Hudymáčová et al., (2010) were used the AHP method to select the best supplier of a firm in the manufacture of plastic and rubber products in Slovakia. In the study, 3 suppliers were evaluated according to quality, cost, delivery, equipment, flexibility, documentation and cooperation criterion.
Ni-Di and Ming-Xian (2010) were used the AHP method for agri-food supplier selection of an enterprise. In their study, 3 suppliers were evaluated according to quality, cost, delivery and service criterion.
Bronja (2011) was used the AHP method for supplier selection problem in a company producing mechanical devices for cars. In the study, 20 suppliers were evaluated according to price, range of supply, lead time, quality, performance, flexibility, locations, and delivery criterion.
Rouyendegh and Erkan (2012) were used the AHP to determine the best suppliers that are providing equipment to a university in Turkey. In the study, 3 suppliers were evaluated according to cost, quality, delivery and flexibility criterion.